2008-05-13

That all changed on April 24. That was the day McDonald's Canada rolled out its new Angus Burger. I don't want to be overly dramatic about this — but I really don't think I can go back to eating regular hamburgers again.

Okay look, you almost have to respect the Angus people for making such a big deal out of their breed. Look at Kay's comments:

In fact, everything about this burger tastes premium. That includes the 100% Angus beef patty, which is so delicious that you can hardly believe it is surface fried. (The thought that this burger might be even better — if it were flame-broiled — boggles the mind.)

Here's something to remember: nobody has a freaking clue whether its Angus or not once its ground into hamburger. A carcass expert can make an educated guess from certain whole cuts of meat, but even the most hardcore Angus rancher wouldn't have a clue if his burger was Angus or Charolais or Murray Grey or Limousin or Gelbvieh.

I have also had the McDonalds Angus Burger, and I'm not a fan. I already miss my delicious Big Xtra (with cheese and bacon) and am seriously cutting back my previously sizeable McDonalds intake as a result. Just plain Big Macs isn't enough for me. I find this Full Comment discussion interesting because over the weekend I was debating blogging about this very topic. I had gone to McDonalds (still disappointed about the Angus burger) and tried the "Classic Crispy chicken" which is also now premiumly on ciabatta bread. They have a new tangy sauce that I don't like at all, meaning McDonalds is really risking my business with this new change. I hope Jonathon Kay is planning on eating there 4 times a week, or else they'll lose out!

At the end of his missive Kay brings up the Big Xtra's forerunner, the Arch Deluxe (which was a better sandwich than the Big Xtra by a small amount):

One cannot help but wonder: Will the Angus Burger go the way of the $300-million Arch Deluxe project 12 years ago? Recall that the AD was also a "premium" burger sold at an upscale price. During an email discussion I had with some friends yesterday, I was reminded that the ads featured Ronald McDonald in a business suit, and claimed that it was “the McDonald’s burger with the grown-up taste” — or some such. In an eerie foreshadowing of the Angus Burger, it, too, had an upscale sauce (bernaise), as well as an upscale onion treatment (sautéed).

I just thought it interesting that Kay forgets that the Arch Deluxe didn't "go the way" of anything other than becoming the Big Xtra -- which my weekend McDonalds companions already managed to forget ever existed.

So I Googled the McDLT to see what traces of it remain on the Internet. My search quickly brought me to this terrifically horrible McDLT commercial starring a pre-Seinfeld Jason Alexander who should go back in time and fire his stylist.